Mel King ran for mayor of Boston in 1983.

Credit: Brendan Lynch / WGBH News

PART I: Activist Mel King On Laying The Groundwork For Equality In Boston

Mel King is one of Boston's most significant voices. In a career that's spanned more than half a century, he's been a community activist, an educator, a writer, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Three decades ago, King became the first--and so far, the only--African-American candidate for mayor to survive the mayoral preliminary election and make it to the two-person mayoral final.

Recently, WGBH News reporter Adam Reilly sat down with King for a two-part conversation about his life and work. This audio, from their first session, focuses on King's formative years. In it, King talks about how moving from the multiethnic South End of his youth to the segregated South changed his world view, and discusses his role laying the groundwork for greater equality in Boston's public schools.

Listen to outtakes from Reilly's interviews with King:

Part two of WGBH News reporter Adam Reilly's conversation with Mel King will air on WGBH on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 6:30 p.m.